Activists protest near Southborough primate research center

Please contact Elizabeth Goldentyer to demand that
Harvard Medical School receive the largest fine possible under the
Animal Welfare Act for the negligence which killed a monkey during an
imaging procedure.

This is the third time in 1 1/2 years that negligence at the Medical
School has killed a primate. During the same time period Harvard
University negligence killed a goat, and negligence at two Harvard
Medical School affiliated Hospitals killed another five animals. So far
the USDA has issued only an Official Warning against Harvard's Medical
School. Clearly USDA inaction has contributed to the continuing deaths
at these facilities.

Please insist that the USDA issue a fine, and let Dr. Goldentyer know
that you hold her personally responsible for the USDA's inaction, and
the deaths of these animals. She MUST take action now!

MARLBOROUGH — Following a federal sanction after the death of a primate,
groups in Marlborough and Cambridge protested Sunday against Harvard University
and its affiliated Southborough testing facility.

“We want people to get educated about animal experimentation,” said Jamie
Kordack, who organized the protest, held at the intersection of Farm Road and
Rte. 20 in Marlborough.

Kordack said protesters gathered at the intersection for a few hours before
going to the facility in Southborough and holding a memorial service for the
primates across the street.

She said she thinks the group got a lot of good feedback during the
demonstration.

The protest in Marlborough, down the street from the New England Primate
Research Center in Southborough, was held in concert with another protest at
Harvard University, which owns and operates the Southborough facility.

The two protests were held in the wake of a U.S. Department of Agriculture
inspection report released earlier this month that revealed that a primate died
at the Southborough facility in October after it escaped and was captured by a
staff member.

The USDA inspector, Paula Gladue, also cited the facility for keeping too
many animals in a cage, keeping a primate in too small a cage and after seeing
three primates exhibiting signs of “psychological distress.”

The October death was the second in Southborough in recent years. In 2010, the
USDA issued a warning to the Southborough facility after staff members there
found the body of a primate in a cage that had been sent through a cage washing
mechanism.

The Harvard Crimson reported yesterday that, including the two primate deaths
in Southborough and another primate death at another Harvard facility, nine
animals have died in Harvard-affiliated laboratories in the last two years.

According to a statement from protesters, activists are calling for heavy
fines.

Kordack, of East Brookfield, said about nine people turned out for the
protest in Marlborough Sunday and about 15 made took part in the protest in
Cambridge.

She said she got involved after receiving an email from Michael Budkie, the
executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now!, based in Ohio.

Kordack said she wanted to spread the word about animal testing, which she
said is often unnecessary and ineffective. She said the vast majority of testing
is not used for important medical research.

“The most recent primate death at Harvard continues a string of negligence
which stretches back 1½ years” said Budkie in a statement.

“It is patently
obvious that Harvard staff is unqualified, careless and have no concern for
animals or science.”

Harvard Medical School officials said earlier this month that they are
committed to complying with all regulations that ensure ethical biomedical
research.

Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-490-7453 or khatch@wickedlocal.com.